Cabinet minister joins the Tories and calls for government to make sure Britons are happy

Be happy: James Purnell has echoed David Cameron's call for people's wellbeing to be made a priority

Making people happier should be given a greater priority in Government policy, a Cabinet minister said today.

James Purnell echoed David Cameron's call for people's wellbeing to be pushed up the political agenda.

'In simple terms, Britain could be happier,' said the Work and Pensions Secretary, while also advocating that money in general makes people happier.

He has ordered an urgent study into improving well-being at work.

Mr Purnell's move will be seen by some MPs as a sign that Labour has been rattled by the Tory leader's ability to connect with millions of workers desperate a better lifestyle.

But sources close to the Cabinet rising star argued that Labour was determined to draw up policies on issues such as happiness but that the Tories were just following the latest fad before ditching it for another trend.

At a conference on well-being in central London, Mr Purnell stressed that six million people suffer from depression or anxiety in Britain, two-thirds of adults say that work interferes with their family life and that teenagers in the UK trust each other less than those in almost any other country.

He rejected arguments by academics that there is no link between wealth and happiness.

'We do get happier as we get richer,' he said.

His comments echo Mr Cameron's campaign for a general well-being index for the country alongside the GDP measurement of economic growth.

Arguing against a rush for growth, he added that New Labour had to 'come out of Thatcherism's shadow'.

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He added: 'Growth matters - that should be obvious at a time of slowdown. People suffer when prices go up.

'When they lose their jobs. When they worry about their family's future. But some of growth are better than others.

'Growth that doesn't harm the environment. Growth that helps people be happy.'

Mr Purnell also seized on shadow Chancellor George Osborne's move to ditch his promise to match Labour's spending plans if the Tories win power.

'The Conservatives have indicated that their public spending policy is shifting towards painful cuts,' he said.

Labour's campaign to portray the Tories as dangerous Rightwingers was in disarray today.

Ministers accept they are finding it difficult to make their claim stick. 'With their warm words... it is hard to convince people of the argument that the Tories have not changed..." says a leaked Labour document.

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Cabinet minister joins the Tories and calls for government to make sure Britons are happy